Deux Diables
by Vampstinger
Summary: Oneshot following on from Seeds of Love. Liadan meets up with an old, xtra special friend. Short character piece with spoilers for next story.


Okay, legal stuff: anything you see that looks familiar either belongs to Capcom (Dante/DMC) or Marvel et al (X-Men, Gambit/Remy LeBeau. The only thing I own is Liadan, and she's more than enough, thanks. Also, I don't speak Cajun French, so any portrayal of that language has been taken from online dictionaries/translation software. Any mistakes I've made are my own and corrections are more than welcome.

This hasn't been betaed, either, so if anyone sees any spelling errors/grammatical errors, I'd appreciate it if you'd drop me a line and let me know.

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Remy Etienne LeBeau was a ladies man; there was no doubt about it. He had lost count of the number of women he had romanced and while he didn't keep a 'little black book', he did remember every single face and name. There were, however, only one or two women with whom he could easily have fallen in love with. Liadan Redgrave nee óCatháin was one of these very few, but he hadn't really expected her to stay with him, considering the people that had been after her, and had been grateful for the wonderful month or so that they had had together. He had never expected to see her again, especially after so many years.

He cast a thoughtful glance to the woman perched on the roof next to him, idly toying with the cigarette she had filched from him. She had aged well and was, in his opinion, even more beautiful than he remembered. Whether it was anything to do with the two children she had borne, he wasn't sure, but the curves that had only been hinted at when she was nineteen were well established now. Her husband was a very lucky man. Her fighting style and skill levels had also changed over the years, and Remy was convinced that she could now hold her own against any of the X-Men now, and the outcome wouldn't be a foregone conclusion, either.

"You ever t'ink about Remy, _cher_?" He finally wondered, softy. "Ever t'ink what happen if you stay wit' me?" Liadan smiled slightly,

"Of course." She shrugged, "I wanted to go back to you so much those first few months after I left." It had been years, really, but he didn't need to know that. She had pined for the charming Cajun thief for months after running from yet another hunter, and looking back now, she knew that she had begun to bond with him. It wouldn't have done either of them any good if that had happened, so perhaps it had been for the best. "Still think about you sometimes, but I wouldn't give up Dante and the cubs for anyone."

"We were good toget'er, _non_?" She matched his wicked grin with one of her own. It was mostly because of the time she had spent with him that she had had tricks of her own to show Dante when they first got together. Those few, precious weeks had been full of days and nights of dancing, eating, making love and generally throwing themselves headlong into life. There had been moments of introspection too; when they talked candidly about their lives, with a freedom that perhaps neither would have used later in their lives. For her, Remy had taken away the loneliness stemming from being without the myriad clan members she was used to being round, and his stories about his life growing up on the streets had both prepared her for her own time there, and reminded her that not everyone was as lucky as she had been, to have had a safe, carefree childhood.

"Aye, we were, my dear _gadaí._" Gambit grinned; the foreign word was nothing more than the word for 'thief' in the language that Liadan's grandmother had taught her, but the sheer affection with which she used the phrase replaced the insult that was usually meant when someone called him that. It would be easy to fall in love with this woman, regardless of the affection he had for Rogue, but the time for such feelings was well past for both of them. "Remy?" Liadan's smile faded, replaced by a look of concern as she ran her fingertips lightly over his cheek. "Are you truly happy here? With these X-Men?"

"_Oui, cher,_ Remy is happy." He shrugged, "You know people like us, we live in de present. Don't look to de future, _non_?" Liadan smiled slightly, not really expecting any other answer from him. She didn't trust these X-Men herself. Charles Xavier's dream of a world where 'normal' humans accepted mutants was a worthy one, but the man's sometimes naïve morals weren't always adhered to by his followers. She wasn't convinced that they would understand the events that led up to the role Remy had been forced to play in the massacre of the Morlocks. He was still tortured by that night, even though he had been tricked by Sinister, and had even been able to save one of the children from the slaughter. To be honest, she didn't know much about the politics of mutants; Dante wasn't interested in it if it wasn't a demon, and Liadan had more than enough on her hands keeping the cubs out of trouble. In fact, Remy was the only mutant she had knowingly met.

"What about you, _cher_? Your man treatin' you right?" Liadan smiled slightly and lowered her hand.

"If he treated me any better I'd think I was dreaming." She grinned, "We have our spats of course, but who doesn't? And making up is always fun." She paused, taking a deep breath and idly flicking away the still glowing stub of her cigarette. Dante would do his nut when he found out that she had been smoking, but it wasn't a habit she indulged in frequently. "That is part of the reason I wanted to speak to you."

"Oh?" The Cajun watched curiously as his old friend tugged the sleeves of her purple, microfibre top back to reveal black and red tattoos round her wrists. "_Merde_! Li'dan, is dat...?" He stared at the symbols etched onto her pale skin. "_La langue de_ _diables_..." he breathed, stunned at the sight of the glyphs he had only ever seen once before, when Tante Mattie warned him in no uncertain terms not to use such language for any sort of reason. Humans couldn't control the power that these glyphs wielded, nor did they truly understand them since, as the name implied, it was the language of demons. "C_her_, you know what dat is?" Liadan nodded, recovering the symbols. "You shouldn't mess wit' stuff like dat, _cher_, it not safe."

"It's not safe for humans to use it, you mean." She murmured. "Tante Mattie told you about the demon language, obviously. Did she tell you about the legend of Sparda while she was at it?" Remy blinked, the slight red glow from his eyes vanishing momentarily.

"De Dark Knight Sparda? De one dat sealed de demon world away from de human world?" Liadan nodded,

"Did she tell you anything more about him?" Remy shook his head. He hadn't seriously believed all that Tante Mattie had told him about Sparda. The demon language was proof that the demon world existed in some form, but he wasn't prepared to believe that such a...noble devil had ever existed.

"I'm not surprised...not many scribes round any more, not that he'd like anyone prying where it's not their business." Liadan mused absently, speaking more to herself than her old friend.

"_Cher_?"

"When Sparda sealed away Temen-ni-gru all those years ago, he stayed in the human world. He protected it from demons that managed to get through tears in the seal, or had been summoned by humans playing with things they couldn't control or truly understand. Eventually he married a human woman called Eva and had twin sons." She turned to look directly at Remy, "Those sons were called Vergil...and Dante." It took a few moments for the implication to sink in, but his ruby eyes widened when the connection was finally made.

"_Non_...ya ain't serious...y'husband's de son of Sparda?" Liadan simply smiled slightly, "Why he make you have them tattoos done den?"

"No one makes me do anything, _Gadaí_, you know that." She chided. "We had a hell of a fight about it before I agreed to having them done. Took me a while, but I understood the need for them. I was a few months pregnant at the time, and neither of us could bear the thought of history repeating itself. Dante worked on the designs for days, until the sigils read exactly as he wanted them." She snickered, "That's what finally convinced me that he was serious; Dante's attention span is usually about the same length as a gnat, unless it's something he really wants." Remy smiled slightly at the intended joke, but couldn't help feel that there was more behind the comment about history repeating itself, and it didn't sound at all pleasant. He shook his head,

"Remy still don' get it. Why such dangerous protection?" Liadan closed her eyes; the pain was a dull ache, but still there, even after all these years.

"The twins weren't the first children I carried, Remy." She whispered, "Our first child...I was ambushed by demons.... I don't remember much, but from what little I've managed to get out of Dante, I barely survived the attack. Our child didn't."

"Oh…" Remy breathed, closing his eyes momentarily before reaching out and twining his fingers with hers. "'m so sorry, _chéri_." She squeezed his fingers, a small smile tugging her lips. "Dat be why you had de tattoos done, _oui_?"

"Yes. They protected me when I was unable to fight for myself." A small snicker escaped her lips, "Being eight months pregnant with twins makes it pretty damned difficult to move, you know?"

"Remy can imagine. Bet you looked _joli_, Li'dan_._" Liadan snickered,

"What is it with men and thinking pregnant women are pretty?" Dante had been adamant that she had been beautiful when she was nearly full term, even with swollen ankles and a belly that she was just as certain was the same size as a small whale and hadn't seen her feet in weeks. Remy shrugged,

"We just do, _cher_." He didn't know about other men, but pregnant women had always given him a measure of hope and jealousy. He'd never known his biological parents and hadn't truly known a mother's love, though he knew that Tante Mattie had loved him, and the sight of pregnant women caused him to hope that those babies never had to go through life without knowing that love, but at the same time he was jealous that they would have the love that was denied him all those years earlier. He would have loved to have seen Liadan with child, despite those conflicting emotions.

"I should have kept it touch with you, _Gadaí_." He felt her shift carefully closer to him. "I wanted to call you, so many times, but I couldn't run the risk of the hunters using you to get to me." They would have had no qualms about using a mutant to get to her; as far as many hunters were concerned, mutants were on the same level as demons, and if the ones who were hunting her had seen Remy's eyes...well. It would have been a two for one as far as they would have been concerned. "When I met Dante, the hunters didn't matter so much any more, but there were demons to worry about..."

"It all right, c_héri_, Remy understand." He raised their joined hands and kissed her fingertips. "'Sides, could've searched for you m'self." Liadan sighed,

"Perhaps." She nibbled her lower lip. "I still feel as though I did you a great disservice though, leaving when I did."

"_Non_." The Cajun smiled, reaching out with his free hand to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Too much time gone by now, Li'dan, Remy have no hard feelings." Liadan sighed,

"You were the first man I fell in love with." She admitted softly, "There'll always be a part of me that loves you."

"Li'dan..." Remy began, but then trailed away. Really, what could he say in answer to that admission? He was honoured that she felt that way about him. He couldn't say that he returned the sentiment; by the time he met Liadan he'd already been married to Belladonna and she would always be his first love, but he had to admit that he still held a candle for the little brunette runaway he'd met all those years ago.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"_Non_, it ok _chéri._" She sighed, loosening her grip on his hand, as though wanting to let go. Remy refused to let her.

"We're not like normal people, are we, Remy?" She mused, scooting closer to his warmth. Perhaps it was his unusual metabolism, but he'd always had a high body temperature and it was beginning to get cooler. "I don't just mean your mutation or me being a half-breed, but our lifestyles. Every day could be our last, but we'd be lost if we ever had to live a 'normal' life."

"Guess dat's true, but Remy don' think about it too often."

"I didn't either, at least, not until the twins were born."

"Heh?"

"At the risk of sounding cliché, it's not something you can really understand until you have children." She smiled contentedly at the thought of her four year old cubs. The pair of them were no doubt running Dante ragged at this very moment, but he loved every minute of it, no matter how much he might grumble about his sleep being taken up. It did help that he was as much of a kid as they were at times, since she could foist them off on him when she was exceptionally tired or had important work to do for the bookstore. "I'm more aware of my own mortality than I ever have been before, and the world I live in is dangerous. I could be killed at any time, and while I've never been afraid of dying, I need to know that the cubs will be cared for."

"Remy ain't _pere_ material, Li'dan, you know dat."

"Not asking for a father figure for 'em." She snickered, "Dante's pretty damned near impossible to kill, but he'll need help if something happens to me, and I don't trust some of the people he does. I want to know that there's someone _I_ trust helping him."

"You don' trust your husband's friends?"

"I certainly don't trust Lady; as far as I'm concerned, she's a selfish bigot and I don't like her being near the cubs." She shrugged, "It's been a sore point between Dante and me for years, but he refuses to ban her from the shop." There was more to this enmity between the two women than simple bigotry, Remy was certain, but he was just as sure that Liadan either wouldn't or couldn't acknowledge whatever it was, nor was it really any of his business, however intriguing it might be. "Trish...well, she's a bit complicated and while I get on with her, she's not exactly...she doesn't understand humans all that well." That was an intriguing comment as well; when he first met her, Liadan's life had been pretty interesting and it appeared that it still was, even after all these years. Besides, it was always a good idea to be on the right side of powerful beings, and if Liadan was being honest about her husband being the son of Sparda, well, it couldn't hurt to be amenable to an old friend.

"Dante, he know dat you're asking me dis favour? He know about our past?"

"Oh, he knows." She grinned, "The letch was more than a little interested in you after I showed him that picture we had taken together." It didn't bother her in the slightest that Dante had experimented with both men and women in the past; his demonic nature meant that he considered pleasure to be pleasure, regardless of the sex of his partner, though he did tend to prefer women over men.

"Remy never been part of _ménage et trois_ before, _mais_ dere's always a first time." Liadan grinned, ignoring the jolt of sheer lust that shot through her at the idea of being the centre of attention of two gorgeous and highly sexual males.

"Thanks for the offer, Remy, but we'd probably wear you out. Besides, neither of us really like to share all that much." Remy took it as a joke, but Liadan knew better; even during the time they'd spent together when they were younger, she'd had the experience to be able to control her unusual strength and stamina during sex, but her years being able to allow herself free reign with Dante had spoiled that ability. Between the pair of them, Remy would be exhausted long before they tired of him. "I don't need an answer to my request straight away." She murmured, bringing the conversation back to the previous topic, "But sooner rather than later would be good. It's been a few years since the last major incident we were involved in, so I wouldn't be surprised if something happened soon." Remy nodded, unsurprised by his friend's comment; they both led dangerous lives, and from his own experience he knew that it was unusual for years to go by without _something_ happening.

"Maybe Remy should meet de _enfants_, _et_ your husband, before we agree on anyt'ing, _oui_?" Liadan nodded; there was no guarantee that the rest of the family would get on with the Cajun, though it would surprise her if they didn't; the thief's carefree and hedonistic personality would go down well with Dante and there were very few children who didn't like his penchant for mischief.

"Fair enough." It wouldn't be too long before Dante came to pick her up, and she wondered how her husband was going to make his appearance known. She had simply made her way to the front door, but that would be too 'normal' for Dante. He would want to make sure everyone knew that he had arrived. In truth, she hoped he wouldn't be too long. She had enjoyed the time she had spent with her old friend; playing cards, though she was still atrocious and received a sound trouncing, recalling the dishes he had taught her to cook as they made dinner together and finally discussing what had happened to each other during the years they were apart over a few bottles of wine and cigarettes on the roof of the large Westchester mansion, but she hadn't been entirely comfortable and neither was Remy. The thief hadn't said anything, though whether it was because of pride or self-delusion she wasn't sure, but she knew enough of his personality to know that the thicker his accent and the more he referred to himself in terms of a third person, the more stressed he was.

Liadan was pretty sure that Remy had no idea just how thick his accent had been while in the mansion, surrounded by his 'team-mates', or how often he had been referring to himself in the third person. It worried her; the stark contrast between his speech patterns now, alone with her on the roof, to what they had been inside the place he told her was his home. However, she also knew him well enough to know that he wasn't going to tell her anything until he was ready, and if he never was, then she could at least provide him with a bolthole. "Here. Take this, but keep it to yourself." She handed him a business card with the address and phone number of the office. "If you ever need to talk, or a place to rest up, you'll be more than welcome." Hesitantly, Remy took the small oblong of thin card from Liadan's outstretched fingers. It was a simple, white business card with the name 'Devil May Cry' etched in thin, elegant blood red letters, with an address and phone number in smaller text beneath it. He'd heard that name; most people in the Thieves Guild had, though no one had ever found out much about the man behind the name. All they knew was that he wasn't human, and that the name meant something dangerous.

He glanced at Liadan out of the corner of his eye. She no longer looked like the young girl he had met all those years ago, though her hair was still kept in two braids, it was now bound at the ends with matching red gold ornaments. A red and yellow gold torc was wrapped round her neck, ruby heart studs were in her ears and her fingers held six rings, all in red gold and set with various gems – rubies, garnets, yellow diamonds and pearls, aside from what looked to be her wedding ring, which was a red jade band encased in red gold filigree. The earrings were high quality star rubies, and would have cost a small fortune by themselves. Despite her new, more sophisticated appearance, she still had the aura of softness and kindness that had drawn him in when they were both younger, though it had developed a more motherly feel. It really didn't surprise him that she had offered him a bolt hole, despite the fact that she no doubt knew that he already had many of his own throughout the country; the offer itself was the important thing. It was such a shame that he wasn't the settling down type: as she was now Liadan was just the sort of woman he wouldn't have minded settling down with; handsome, sexually voracious, with good taste in jewellery and a disposition similar to his Tante Mattie. Gentle, yet hard when needed and with a sense of humour that matched his own. Oh, she had her bad points; an inability to give most people a second chance if they had hurt her or those she cared for and definite trust issues, for example, but Remy had enough of his own faults to take offence at anyone else's.

The roar of a motorbike's engine cut through the relatively still night, causing both thief and mercenary to glance towards the main gate of the mansion. "That'll be Dante." Liadan murmured. If he was on his bike, it meant that he hadn't brought the kids, which in turn meant that he was either on the way to or coming back from a job. Hopefully he was heading to a job; the tension that she had felt whilst inside the mansion needed an outlet, and battering a few demons was just what she needed. She released his hand and pushed herself to her feet and stretched. "You'll have to come and visit soon." She commented, before leaping down from the roof onto the lawn, closely followed by Remy.

"Just may do dat." He mused, watching in amusement as a bright red bike exploded over the top of the large wrought-iron gates at the end of the driveway. The man atop of the bike had an insane grin on his face as he pulled up alongside the pair, easily ignoring the chaos from inside the mansion as alarms sounded thanks to his impromptu appearance, and Remy found himself liking the man for it, irrespective of his demonic heritage. It was clear that Dante wasn't a 'normal' human; he was too handsome, with a strong jaw and well formed cheekbones, never mind his sheer size. His white hair, strikingly pale blue eyes and the air of sheer, dark power surrounding him only enhanced the impression of 'wrongness' that a human might get when looking at him for the first time. Regardless of his human appearance, it was clear to Remy that this man was something more than human, and very dangerous if you got on the wrong side of him.

"You ready to go, woman? We've got a job." His voice was just as unusual as the rest of him; smoky velvet, with a purring undertone of amusement.

"Sure." While Liadan was settling herself behind him on the bike, Dante turned his attention to the man who had been stood next to her.

"You're Remy LeBeau, then?" He wondered, head cocked to one side slightly as his icy coloured eyes slowly ranged over the other man. "Lia's right; you're pretty easy on the eyes." He grinned again as Liadan tightened her arms round his waist and the sound of running footsteps came from inside the mansion. With a squeal of tires and a shower of grass and dirt from the lawn, he span the bike round to face the way he had just come. "Adiós, kid." He saluted carelessly before revving the bike and cutting a red streaked swathe through the X-Men who had come running out of the mansion to deal with the trespasser.

Remy LeBeau grinned and lit another cigarette with a careless touch of his finger, inhaling the sweet smoke deeply as he watched the couple leave the grounds as noisily as Dante had arrived. The request to stand as a kind of godfather to the couple's children was something that appealed to the thief; not only was it a good idea to have someone as obviously powerful as Dante as an ally, but Remy had always had a soft spot for children, having taken a lot of the younger ones under his wing whilst living on the street. It might seem an odd thing for a ten year old to do, but you grew up quick on the streets, or you didn't grow up at all. He nodded absently, turning to make his way back into the mansion and his room, a visit to see his old friend and her children could prove to be a very fruitful endeavour.


End file.
